Karla Villasenor

Written during his exile in Chile, the book of Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), presents what is not merely a new pedagogy, but a plan to authentic liberation of man, whether oppressor or oppressed. Paulo Freire criticizes the traditional system of education ("banking education") and presents a new pedagogy where educators and learners work together to develop a critical view of the world they live. Freire's writings appear for a period of intense political conflict in Brazil where he sought exile in Chile; thus his life circumstances influence the way he perceive the world.

Freire writes about the search for the roots of the problems facing humanity in the late sixties and suggests that man is inconclusive, and the dehumanization that exists in the world is a distortion of the desire to be more. Freire also discusses that both the oppressor and the oppressed, are afraid of freedom, but for different reasons. Ones have fear of assuming too much and the oppressed have fear of losing power over who they oppress. Freire recognizes that the release of oppression do not come easily. He suggests that the act of solidarity with the oppressed is necessary to build the road to the new man, and gives a word of caution by saying that this path cannot be done with paternalistic actions to the oppressed because then they end up tied to the same position of dependence and that is what needs to change.

Freire strongly affirms the relationship between solidarity and liberation, and that the oppressed have to be active agents in the process of release. The leader cannot simply dictate terms in a paternalistic way to his followers; communication must exist among all the participants. The struggle is meaningless if it is only to change places with the oppressors, a new human man must emerge, he argues.

Freedom from an oppressed condition requires action, but he indicates that liberating action without any real critical thinking becomes mere activism (this specific point struck me the most, since many people that volunteer do act to change the world and the living conditions of the oppressed and marginalized, but few truly connect and understand the people who they are trying to help).

Lastly, Freire points out that the liberation of the oppressed in all its forms must start now, not after the revolution, and therefore, the leader needs the trust in the people as being able to formulate their own conclusions and plans. The emphasis is place on the union among the leadership and the people which I believe is one pillar of many of the CPO/CPOSA projects here at UCLA.